I recently acquired a 4x5 Crown Graphic - later model with a top rangefinder - and would like to use my Vivtar 283 or 285HV flash unit with the camera. The shutter has the more modern PC connection so getting the sync wire is not a problem. I'd like to get a flash bracket for the thing and would like to hear opinions from the folks here. The
Bogen 3429 unit looks like it might be a good fit. What do you think?

I'm pretty sure that if you look around here, you'll find a very similar topic from maybe a year ago. I asked the same questions... But, I wasn't willing to pay the incredible prices for commercial flash brackets! I did accomplish a few things though.

First, it was suggested that Graflex (and others) had made an adapter that mounts on top of the old bulb flash battery case with a modern flash mount on it. Never could find one until I finally got my Strob 500 package. Anyway, so I made one that works just fine. Found a 1 1/2 inch PVC screw-on pipe end. With just a touch of sanding on the threads inside, and a small 'notch' to allow a screw head to pass inside, it slides over the top of the bulb flash battery case. Then a 1/4 inch hole through the middle to screw into a standard PC-to-hot shoe adapter and off I went. Cost about 10 bucks total.

Wasn't completely happy with that since I got my Sunpak 622. A bit too heavy for that kind of mount. So I bought a pair of 1 1/2 inch Graflex flash brackets, cut them and made them fit the handle of the 622. Now that mounts directly on the original Speed or crown flash bracket mount. This won't help your 283 though.

Next, I wanted a heavy duty 'universal' flash bracket after finding out the 622 wouldn't work with my Minolta X-700 with a motor drive on it. So I wound up at the local lumber yard/hardware store and found an 'L' bracket brace. It's about 9 inches long on each side and maybe 1 inch wide and a good 3/8 thick, with pre-drilled holes every inch or so. Any hardware store that carries stuff for large doors or fences will have these. I drilled a few 1/4 inch holes to screw through a 1/4-20 thumb screw to hold the cameras on one side. Glued a thin sheet of cork on the inside (top) so it would hold the camera better. Then mounted a Graflex flash mount bracket to the other side. It can now hold any flash that uses the old standard gralfex flash mounting brackets. then I made a block that screws to the very top with a 1/4-20 mounting screw and attached another PC-to-hot shoe adapter to that. So it can also hold any newer hot-shoe type electronic flash. It fits all my cameras from the 35mm to the 4x5's and hold all my flashes. I can even screw a tripod into any of the extra 1/4-20 tapped holes on the bottom side. Total cost for this one, about 15 bucks. The PC-to hot shoe adapter was the most expensive item for both at about 7 bucks or so...

But if you want to buy a fancy commercial one, more power to ya I just couldn't stand the cost of one for what they are...

The products of Jones Photo Equip. are made by one old man [whose name isn't Jones, by the way]. He is fun to talk to. If that mount doesn't fit exactly, I'd bet he'll be happy to make you one that does. And, his prices are very reasonable.